Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Romantic Comedy

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Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

32 reviews

sebradley29's review against another edition

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3.5

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thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Blurb:

Sally Milz is a thirty-six-year-old sketch comedy writer with a reputation for writing about feminist issues and themes. She takes a cynical view toward her lackluster love life and frequently ruminates over the tendency of conventionally attractive female celebrities to couple up with less conventionally attractive male comedians—noting that this sort of coupling rarely occurs if the gender roles are reversed. She’s forced to reconsider her philosophy when she meets Noah Brewster, an attractive superstar who takes an interest in her.

Review:

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld takes place in three stages. The first half of the book takes place during the week leading up to a late-night live show (called The Night Owls in the book, but which is VERY clearly a stand-in for Saturday Night Live, down to the smallest details). The next part is an email exchange between Sally and Noah, and the final section of the book follows the protagonist as she meets the love interest in person during the COVID-19 pandemic. The structure contributes in large part to the main issues I have with this book. The first half of the book takes place in a week span, but only a handful of scenes actually contribute to the main plot. The rest is chock full of details about how the live show works, Sally’s coworkers’ lives, and other minute details. As a huge fan of Saturday Night Live, I appreciated these details for adding a sense of realism to the story, but they are purely superfluous from a storytelling perspective. Even outside of this section, Romantic Comedy consists mainly of expository details that add to the story’s realism, but that detract from its momentum. In other words, this book is in need of editing and restructuring.

One thing that I appreciate about Romantic Comedy is that the romance between Sally and Noah feels much more healthy, developed, and mature compared to most relationships in romance books. The main characters communicate their feelings and expectations, and their attraction to one another forms equally out of their respect and admiration for each other as their sexual attraction. That being said, Sally is much less mature than Noah. For the first half of the book, she’s insufferable—her only real personality traits are that she likes her job and that she’s a feminist. She unfairly judges others and treats people with disrespect. Moreover, it’s unclear why Noah finds her attractive. The conceit of the book is that her relationship with Noah switches the gender roles in a common dynamic in which a conventionally attractive, female superstar falls in love with a less conventionally attractive comedian for their humor and charm. The problem with this is that nowhere in the book is Sally shown to be funny or charming. Sure, she supposedly writes hilarious sketches (although a lot of her sketch ideas sound awful on paper), but she displays none of that humor or wit in her actual personality. She’s a wet blanket of a human being, and poor Noah is forced to act as her therapist because she’s not emotionally mature enough to act like an adult in their relationship.

The Run-Down:

You will probably like Romantic Comedy if:

· You love comedy and/or Saturday Night Live, and want to read about how a show like SNL is put together AND

· You are looking for a romance built on shared interests and communication more than raw attraction

You might not like Romantic Comedy if:

· You don’t want to read about the COVID-19 pandemic

· You are looking for a traditional rom-com book (this book leans more toward literary fiction than traditional romance, contains very little humor, and is not "smutty")

· You like fast-paced, efficient books that don’t dwell on unnecessary details

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hmetwade's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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kylieshart's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really liked this one. It was a quick and easy read. I loved that some of it was epistolary, I love that in books. The audiobook narrator was the same as Funny You Should Ask by Elisa Sussman and I got a lot of those vibes from this one, especially the celebrity x non-celebrity relationship. This story had a big focus on COVID which I wasn't really expecting.

No one outright died from COVID so at least there is that.

I would purchase this one for my own shelves as I enjoyed myself while reading. Also, it was very realistic with peeing/pooping and I liked that it was included.

When she wakes up after sex having to fart/poop at his house, I liked the realisticness of it, it made me chuckle

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lindseybarnett's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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sarahyjackson's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I love SNL send ups and I love romantic comedies and I love folks wondering about their behaviors and I love partners choosing each other and that sometimes looking/feeling/being incorrect.

Also, this was my first commit to a pandemic plot line and I found it was, for me, the right tone AND mood.

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icapturethecastle's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

angelanoelle's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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katebrownreads's review against another edition

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3.5

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emmas_bookshelf's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I have been obsessed with Curtis Sittenfeld since I read American Wife over a decade ago. To this day American Wife is one of a handful of books that I’ve reread multiple times. Romantic Comedy is about a 36-year-old writer on SNL (in the book it’s TNO but it’s very obviously SNL) and she’s pondering how mediocre dudes bag smokeshow women over and over yet the opposite never seems to happen. She’s committed to bringing women to the forefront of the show while also wondering if her time might be coming to an end and if she should pivot to rom com screenplays, something she has long wanted to do but never followed through on. Enter Noah Brewster, who is guest hosting and the musical artist for the week. Sally quickly realizes he’s smarter than he appears, and he turns her world upside down.

The first half of the book takes place in one week of making the show in April 2018. Then we jump to April 2020, so you know what that means… full on pandemic lockdown. Sally has fled NYC for her hometown of Kansas City, MO, but an email correspondence with Noah soon leads her to LA.

This book has everything. Therapy, discussion of alcohol, sobriety, body image, eating disorders, sexism, misogyny, lots of jokes, female friendships, and more. It’s so smart and so good and I loved it so much it’s hard to describe. I mean this in the best way when I say Curtis writes very accessible lit-fic and I would highly recommend this book as well as her other works.

Thank you so much to Random House for the copy via NetGalley. This is my honest review and the book is on sale now!

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